How long have you been a FCCMA member and why did you join?
I joined FCCMA in 2020 in the midst of COVID-19. I knew that city leaders would need to support one another and learn from each other throughout the pandemic, especially with new and ever-changing state and federal mandates.
Are you an ICMA member, why did you join, and how long have you been a member?
I became an ICMA member at the same time in 2020. I have found ICMA and FCCMA to be great resources on new issues such as CARES funding, vaccine and mask mandates, working remotely and more.
Please describe your areas of formal/advanced education.
I have a BA in Political Science from Ashland University (Ohio), a MA in National Security Affairs from the Naval Postgraduate School (California), and a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Hawaii. My Ph.D. dissertation was on political decision making which was published as a book in 2009.
Why did you select a career in public service?
The first phase of my career was in the US Navy. I served for seven years as a Naval Intelligence Officer. I resigned in 2005 and moved overseas to work for the State Department. In 2012, after returning to the US, I decided to run for city council in a small town in California. This is when I fell in love with local government and gained a new perspective on public service. I enjoy the day-to day-operations of local government and being able to see progress much more quickly than in the federal government.
Have you always been in the public sector or have you had experience in the private sector?
My work experience has always been in either local, state or federal government.
Please tell us about your current position and give a brief job description if you are not a city manager.
I am newly promoted to the position of Assistant City Manager for the City of Marco Island. We recently reorganized and created an Internal Services Division which I lead. This includes oversight of Fleet and Facilities, Purchasing and Risk Management, HR and IT. I also am responsible for public outreach and communications, legislative priorities, and special projects (vacation rentals, sale of surplus properties, etc.).
Please describe your typical day.
I’m obsessed with using my Outlook calendar. I put everything on my calendar and try to stay on schedule throughout the day. I generally allocate time in the morning and at the end of the day to check email. Mid-morning, I attend either a directors meeting or a meeting with one of my managers. I also check in with the city manager every morning to see if there are any issues he would like me to work on. At lunch time, I go for a run (then eat at my desk later). After lunch, I return phone calls, which are usually residents or council members. In the afternoon, I try to have what I call “head down” time, which is the time I focus on a project or task and just get work done. If I’m not intentional about this time, the day can often get away from me.
What is your favorite part of the job?
I learned while being on city council that I like operations more than policy. I studied policy and taught policy, but on a day-to-day basis, I like “doing” things. I like the execution of a project. I like to see work in progress and see outcomes at the end of a project.
What is your least favorite part of the job?
I’m not a big fan of meetings, and some days I go from meeting to meeting to meeting. But I’ve started to think about meetings as “quality time” and I do like having quality time with my co-workers and friends, so I’m working on having a new perspective on meetings.
If you are involved in any volunteer or leadership activities in your community, please share with us a bit about what you do and why it is important to you.
I am a graduate of Leadership Collier and continue to be engaged in many activities through that organization, including the Communications Committee and panel discussions on community topics. I also am part of a group called “Naples Moms” and we reach out to other moms/families in need. So far this month, we supported 26 families with meals, Christmas gifts and holiday decorations.
What is your most memorable experience on the job?
In early 2021 when COVID vaccines first became available many of our residents were trying to get vaccinated, but it was so hard to get an appointment online and many residents were travelling to other counties and waiting in line for hours to get a vaccine. Our Fire Department coordinated with the Department of Health to obtain and administer vaccines. We set up a vaccine site at one of our parks and contracted with a company to manage the appointment system. It ended up being a great program, but in the first weeks we had a few kinks to work out. One day as I sat at a committee meeting, I started getting text messages from the IT Director saying that the website crashed and our phone lines crashed due to so many people going online to try to get a vaccine appointment. I ran back to City Hall to meet the IT Director and the lobby was full of angry residents who could not log on to get a vaccine appointment. Later, when we looked at the numbers we saw that 41,693 people went online at the same time to fill 200 vaccine appointment slots. When the website became unresponsive, residents started calling City Hall and we got 10,323 calls in one hour causing our phone lines to all default to a busy signal. It was a mess! This is the type of situation that occurred during COVID that no one could have planned for. We didn’t expect to be in the vaccine appointment business and we simply didn’t have the technological resources or staff to meet the demands of the public. And yet, we figured out a solution and began providing the service for Marco Island residents. After all, that is what’s great about local government: we meet the needs of residents, especially in times of crisis.
What are your hobbies/interests?
I enjoy running and exercising, but my favorite thing to do is to lay on the beach with a good book.
If you could give one piece of advice to people interested in a career in public service, what would it be?
This is the best advice I was given at a young age and I pass it along to others: If you want to be extraordinary, be willing to do what no one else wants to do.
Usually no one wants the mundane or less glamorous jobs, but those are the jobs where we tend to learn the most and earn the respect of others. Be willing to step up and do the work that no one else wants to do. It makes you stand out and others will recognize it.
Who were your mentors and how have you passed this information down to other aspiring public administrators?
My first boss in the Navy explained to me the important role of a leader. He said everyone in the organization is like one body: the sailors are the arms and the legs that do the real work; the senior enlisted (supervisors and managers) are the head and the brain; the senior officers, or in our case, the city manager and directors, have to be the heart. I applied this lesson recently in the midst of an IT crisis when I realized that I didn’t have the expertise to actually do the work or even develop the plan to fix the problem. All I could do was support the IT Director and trust him to get the job done. It was my role at that point to encourage him, ask questions, and assist him by keeping others informed of the situation. I realized in that moment, that as the heart of the organization, I needed to step back and empower him. Many of my bosses have modeled this behavior for me, and now I have an opportunity to model to others.
What career would you pick if you were to pick another?
Since I’ve already had a career in the military and in academia, I have to say, working in local government is exactly where I want to be. I hope this will be my career for the next 20 years and I will give it my all.
Do you have a story you can share about how being a member of FCCMA has helped you or impacted you in a positive way?
I serve on the FCCMA Communications Committee, and I really enjoy the connections I’ve made with leaders from other cities. I’m constantly learning from others and appreciate knowing there is a group of colleagues and friends all over the state that I can reach out to at any time to seek advice and support.
